Artists are donating 50 percent of their sales from an online art show to support the restoration of Carrizo Plain National Monument, which was damaged by the Madre Fire in July. The landscape paintings of Carrizo are available online through Oct. 15 and include oil, watercolor, pastel, and acrylic works. Members of San Luis Obispo […]
Local artists support fundraising efforts for Carrizo Plain after Madre Fire
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Art exhibit at Mattei’s Tavern showcases horses and the wild West
Experience the power and grace of open roads and roaming horses at an art show at the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern from Aug. 30 to 31. Artists Kimerlee Curyl and Karen Bezuidenhout showcase work that “invites you to pause, reflect, and reconnect with nature, spirit, and the beauty that exists in the unspoken,” according to […]
Posted inOpinion
Parachute drops are similar to paper towels: They don’t do much to help
Tax-funded parachute drops on rescue missions in Gaza remind one of another intervention by Trump during a crisis. In September 2017 when Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria and left in ruin, its infrastructure was rendered useless and its people were in dire straits. Trump visited, arriving armed with paper towels that he lobbed […]
Posted inOpinion
A fabricated “emergency” aims to reduce environmental protections
Do you know about the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule? It prioritizes the health and resilience of ecosystems on public lands. The rule, legally binding on the actions and decisions of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), requires them to “protect intact landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and make informed management decisions based on science and […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc’s luck
How many times has the city of Lompoc been denied by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Santa Barbara County? I’m not sure, but the city’s efforts to annex some of the land near Bailey Avenue out of the county have met with roadblock after roadblock. For a quarter of a century, the city […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc resident and PACE founder raises funds for all-girls school near Kolkata, India
What began as a tin-roofed, three-room shack gradually evolved into a 3-acre education center for young women in a rural village in India near the city of Kolkata—where the school’s Lompoc-based founder was born and raised. “I grew up with my mother telling me, ‘Finish the food on your plate, they’re starving children outside the […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: August 21, 2025
•U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), and Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) spearheaded a recent letter—co-signed by 45 government officials—that urged Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices to launch an investigation into the department’s stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of U.S. citizens. “Sweeping enforcement operations by [DHS] agents—particularly within Immigration and Customs Enforcement—threaten the safety, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Better Sister is twisty whodunit amid sibling rivalry
The Better Sister What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Prime Chloe (Jessica Beil) and Adam’s (Corey Stoll) seemingly perfect life hides some dirty little secrets—ones they work hard to keep quiet. Chloe is a powerful editor-in-chief for The Real Thing, a feminist magazine that she’s determined to helm meticulously. When Adam fails […]
Posted inNews
Animals return home after being evacuated from Gifford Fire
The large animals evacuated due to the Gifford Fire are back at home as of Aug. 19. Starting on Aug. 2, the Horse Emergency Evacuation Team (HEET) of San Luis Obispo County helped facilitate the evacuation of around 50 animals including horses, goats, llamas, donkeys, and pigs. Animals were evacuated from Huasna, Ranchita, Santa Margarita, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Nobody 2 delivers a satisfying dose of violent comedy
Nobody 2 What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes for Us) directs this sequel to the 2021 original about Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), a seemingly docile family […]
Posted inNews
Red Cross provides safe parking for evacuee during the Gifford Fire
Often wedged between Dave Hild’s van dashboard and windshield, the retired zookeeper’s road maps range from blueprint-style scrolls to thick, paperback atlases. “These don’t require batteries or a signal, and I can drop them in the creek and they’ll still work,” said the former Charles Paddock Zoo employee, who’s lived off-grid in his van for […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA’s Frozen musical auditions open soon for young actors
Young actors are invited to audition for the Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) production of Disney’s Frozen. Auditions start at 10 a.m. on Aug. 23 at 900 E. Stowell Road in Santa Maria. Actors should memorize approximately one minute of a song from a musical to perform and bring sheet music for the provided accompanist. The […]
